Building structure



June 14, 1949. v EDWARDS 2,473,017

BUILDING STRUCTURE Filed Nov. 1, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet l He. 8 i

INVENTOR.

THOMAS J EDWARDS ATTORNEY;

June 14, 1949 Filed Nov. 1, 1943 T. J. EDWARDS BUILDING STRUCTURE 2Shets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

THOMAS J EDWA ROS ATTORNEYS Patented June 14, 1949 BUILDING STRUCTUREThomas J. Edwards, Klamath Falls, Oreg., as-

signor, by mesne assignments, to Burke H. Critchfield, Berkeley, Calif.

Application November 1, 1943, Serial No. 508,529

1 Claim.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in buildingstructures and more particularly to such structures wherein the wallsare composed of a plurality of fabricated boards or panels having meanswhereby they may be assembled in the erection of the walls without theuse of nails, screws or other separable securing elements.

An object of the invention is to provide a building structure in whichall of the parts may be prefabricated, the wall boards or panels havingtheir ends so constructed that the boards of one wall may have theirends interlocked with the boards of adjacent walls in such a manner thatthe wall boards cannot become disengaged from right walls, rafters androof boards may be prefabricated, and the boards or panels constitutinthe upright walls of the building having their ends suitably notched attheir ends to provide interlocking elements whereby the ends of theboards of adjacent walls may be secured together without the use ofmetal or other connectors, and whereby the building may be quicklyerected without the use of skilled labor.

A further object is to provide a plurality of wall boards or panelshaving their ends so notched as to provide interlocking joints at thecorners of the building which are substantially weatherproof, and alsowhereby cross walls or partitions may be provided in the building todivide it into two or more rooms or compartments, the boards or panelsforming the cross walls or partitions being secured to the outside wallsby interlocking engagement with the wall boards thereof and without theuse of nails, screws or other separable connectors.

A further object is to provide a building board or panel having itsopposed edges at each end transveresly notched to provide a tenon ortongue, and a transverse groove being provided in one face of the boardat each end thereof, which grooves are adapted to receive end portionsof adjacent boards, whereby the boards of adjacent walls may be securedtogether at the corners of the building by interlocking engagement, andwithout the use of-nails, bolts or otherseparable connectors, in suchamanner that a very rugged and substantial structure is provided whosewalls are capable of withstanding considerable outward pressure, as mayresult when the building is utilized for storing bulk grain or otherbulk materials.

A further and more specific object is to provide an elongated buildingboard or timber having a tongue on one edge and a groove in its oppositeedge adapted to interfit with similar tongues and grooves in adjacentboards, and each board being formed at each end with opposed shouldersand a longitudinally extending tenon disposed centrally of the board,one of said tenons having a transverse groove in one side face thereofhaving a side wall located in the plane of the shoulders at that end ofthe board, and the tenon at th opposite end of the board having arelatively wider groove therein extending inwardly beyond the shouldersat that end of the board whereby a portion of said last mentioned grooveextends the full width of the board.

A still more specific object of the invention is to provide a pluralityof building timbers or panels each provided at each end with alongitudinally extending terminal tenon and a pair of opposed shoulders,and one face of each timber having spaced transverse grooves therein,one located adjacent to each tenon of each timber, and the grooves incertain of said timbers being of less width than others and adapted toreceive correspondingly sized shoulders provided on others of saidtimbers, whereby when a series of said timbers are assembled in theerection of adjacent walls, the timbers are securely interlocked infixed position at the corners of the building and labyrinth seals areprovided in the joints between adjacent walls whereby said joints arerendered substantially weather-proof.

Other objects of the invention reside in the unique manner of notchingand grooving the ends of each board to provide interlocking tenons andgrooves, and whereby such notching and grooving may readily be performedon standard automatic machinery; in the provision of a plurality ofprefabricated building boards or timbers having their ends so notchedand grooved that they may readily and quickly be assembled in theconstruction of a building by unskilled labor, and without the use ofnails, bolts, or other separable fastening elements, and also wherebymultiple room buildings of various types and shapes may be quicklyerected substantially without the use of a hammer and saw, and wherebysuch buildings may be erected in a comparatively short time; and in theunique shape and design'of the tenons, grooves and shoulders prothefollowing description and the accompanying drawings and will be pointedout in the annexed claim.

In the accompanyin drawings. there has been disclosed a structuredesigned to carry outthevarious objects of the invention, but it is tobeunderstood that the invention is. notconfined to the exact featuresshown, as various changes may be made within the scope of the claimwhichfollows:

. In the drawings:

.Figure 1 is a face view showing one of-mynovel building timbers;

Figure 2 is a top View of Figure 1;

. Figure 3 is a face-viewof a timber showing portions of the transversegrooves at the ends thereofextending the full width of the timber;

Figure 4 is atop view of Figure 3-;

a Figure 5 is a face viewof a timber in which the transverse groovesareentirely within the body of the timber and extend the full widththereof;

Figure 6. is. a top view of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is. a View showing a timber havin relatively longer .tenons attheir ends and in which the transverse grooves are formed in the tenonsandare relatively smaller in width than those shown in Figures fiand 5-;

Figure 8 is atop view of Figure 'l';

Figure 9is-a plan view of: abuilding showinga construction comprisingaplurality of rooms; Figure 10:15 a fragmentaryzplan View showing thesame. timbers. as Figure 11,. but inseparated relation;

Y Figure-11 is. a view similar tdFigurell), but showing the. parts inassembled: relation;

Figure i2. is anenlarged: detail sectional view in. perspective showingthe construction ofthe wall structure illustrated in- Figure 1 i.

To facilitatethe erection of buildings ofsvar ious sizes. and shapes-inaccordance-with thepres entinvention, aplurality fi slightly variantlyshaped timbers. or panelssareiutilized, all ot'which embody the samegeneral characteristics or features. .InFigures l and 2.1- have shown atimberor panel. which will hereinafter be referred to by the referencecharacter A. .This timber com- I prises a body z whichistransverselynotchedat, each end. as. indicated at 3,. to, provide apair'of shoulders 4 at oneendanda pair of shouldersrlil atthe oppositeend. The shoulders of each pair are disposed in acommonplane, or inother words; are vertically aligned with one another and aredisposed atright angles to the. axis a -a.- of the. timber, as clearly illustratedinF-igure 1. Tenons. 6, and .1 are provided atthe ends of thetimbei" andarepreferably symmetrically disposediabout aligned with the shoulders 5.The width of the groove 9 is substantially equal to the width orthickness of the shoulders 4 provided at the opposite end of the timber.To provide leakproof joints between adjacent timbers the upper edge ofeach timber is preferably provided at its upper edge with atongue Ill,and its lower edge preferably has a groove H of conventional designadapted to receive the tongue ll) of a contiguous timber.

In Figure 9 there is shown a multiple room structure'to which theinvention is particularly applicable; The fouri'corners locatedintermediately-of the ends: ofthe building are each formed .by joiningtogether the ends of three walls.

When three walls are thus jointed together the recessin at the ends ofthe timbers must be so designed and constructed that when the timbersare interlocked with one another, the joints therebetween :will.beleakproof and weatherproof.

Figures .1 to 8, inclusive, illustrate the various timbers utilized.- inthe construction of a: building suchas illustrated in Figure 9.Ashere-shown-the diagonally opposedco rners l5 of the'building areconstructed by joining togethervthe ends of timbers A. Timbers B, C, andD, shown in Figures 3, 5, and 7,.are used int-he construction: of otherwalls of the buildingdncluding the cross walls or partitions 20- whichdivide the building into a plurality of rooms.

Each timber-B comprises abody-Z whieh'is transversely notched at itsends to provide at eachend a pair ofshoulders'tseparated byterminaltenons 6 correspondin to the tenons'li shownin Figures 1 and.2.Vertically disposedgrooves 8 araprovidedlneach tenonl3 and-extendpartially into the body of the timber in a manner similar to thatshownatthe le-ft hand end of Figure i. In other words, both endsofthetimberB are identical in. construction, and are. identicalto the letthandendof timber A; v

Timber Cdifiersfrom timbersa and B in thatrelatively-shorter tenonst5areprovided at-theends-thereof. Aligned-shoulders H are also pro-- videdat. each end of the: timber C and a vertical; groove [-8 is-cut in the.face-0t theboardat-each: end thereof. One. sidewallofeach. groove l'aeiscoincident with. its. respective shoulders I] and the width of eachofasaid grooves is substantially equal to the; thickness of the timber,whereby each groove w may 4 receive the face of one o? the tenons. 6,.asclearly .illustratedin Figurelir Figure ll illustratesone oiithe-cornerslltof the building,- and Figure, 12. illustrates.- the relation; shipbetweemthe adjacentsends efI timbers A,-.D- and .C beforebeinginterlocked togetheras shown in Figure 11 Gornersi Ha are-inopposed relationtocorners [9,, but araidentical inconstruction except.that timbersB are utilized inlieuoftimbers A. I

As shown in Figure '7; the timbers D whichconstitute the cross-walls.or. partitions-citric building shown i-n'Figure 9, aresnotchediat.their ends. to. provide a. pair .Oiverticlilly. aligned shoulders 2] at.eachendlot' theitiinber. iIn..the' timbers"1D relativelyi longertenonsfil are. provided, eachlofl which. isprovidd with .a verticallydispos'e'di groove '23'. "The widthsioi the. grooves .23 are sub.-stanti'ally. equal to tliethickness oflthe shoulders l provided on.tin-ibers- A-and .In each. ofT-timbers-B,;. C andD; the tenonsat theends ot saidztimbers aredisposedrin thealongitudinal axes aP-a;ofatheir-respective timbers-as illustrated in the drawings.

Figures 1 to 8, inclusive, illustrate the form of timbers required toconstruct the corners shown at 19 and l9a in Figure 9. It will be notedthat the general characteristics and constructional features of the endsof all of the timbers are similar in that each end of each timber isformed with a symmetrically disposed longitudinally extending tenon, apair of vertically disposed shoulders, and a transverse or verticallydisposed groove. The sizes and shapes of the tenons, shoulders, andgrooves may vary somewhat from one another, but the same generalconstructional features are carried through in the fabrication of all ofthe timbers.

The notching and grooving of the ends of the timbers is such that thetimbers may be fabricated in quantity production on conventionalautomatic machinery, whereby all of the timbers to be utilized in agiven building may be prefabricated and tied into small bundles forconvenient handling in transit. To facilitate erection of the building,various timbers may be clearly marked in the construction or buildingthereof to indicate their relationship to one another in the buildingwalls.

The particular manner of recessing one side face of each timber is ofutmost importance in that it results in the provision of a labyrinthseal at each corner of the building, whereby all corners are renderedsubstantially weatherproof, whereby said timbers may be used in theconstruction of housing units and for various other structures such asbuildings for storing bulk grain, and various other commodities whichrequire thorough and complete protection from the elements.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that I have accomplishedat least the principal objects of my invention, and it will also beapparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiments hereindescribed may be variously changed and modified without departing fromthe spirit of the invention, and that the invention is capable of usesand has advantages not herein specifically described; hence it will beappreciated that the herein disclosed embodiments are illustrative only,and that my invention is not limited thereto.

I claim as my invention:

In a multiple room building including an outer wall and a partition wallextending inwardly from said outer wall at right angles thereto, each ofsaid walls being composed of a series of timbers arranged insuperimposed edgewise relation, and each series of timbers in the outerwall comprising at least first and second timbers disposed insubstantially longitudinal alignment, each of said first timbers havingits opposed edges notched at each end thereof to provide a pair ofopposed shoulders and a terminal tenon at each end of each timber, andeach second timber having its opposed edges notched at each end thereofto provide a pair of opposed shoulders and a terminal tenon at each endof the timber, the tenons of said second timbers being relativelyshorter than the tenons of the first timbers, and said first and secondtimbers each having one side face only thereof transversely grooved ateach terminal tenon thereof whereby the shoulders of the first timbersare relatively narrower than the shoulders of the second timbers,thereby to provide interlocking elements for locking adjacent ends ofsaid first and second timbers together against relative longitudinalmovement, and each timber of said partition wall having its oppositeedges notched at each end thereof to provide a pair of opposed shouldersand a terminal tenon at each end of each of said timbers, which tenonsare relatively longer than the tenons of said first and second timbersand are receivable in aligned openings provided by the notched ends ofsaid first and second timbers, and each of said partition wall timbershaving its tenons transversely grooved on one side face only to receivethe relatively narrower shoulders of said first wall timbers, theshoulders, tenons, and transverse grooves of said timbers cooperating tointerlockingly secure together the timbers at the corners of thestructure and providing weather-proof joints therebetween.

THOMAS J. EDWARDS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,708,162 Trouth Apr. 9, 19291,708,163 Trouth Apr. 9, 1929 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 3,094Great Britain 1856 239,732 Great Britain Sept. 17, 1925

